4 Tips For Looking and Feeling Healthy As a Truck Driver

While the truck driver lifestyle seems to give everyone the impression that it’s sleeping in crammed truck stops, and eating junk food picked up at a gas station, this doesn’t necessarily need to be the lifestyle for all truckers. In fact, this type of lifestyle should be avoided considering how unhealthy it is. So, how can a truck driver feel and look healthy while still carrying out the truck driving career? Keep reading on to find out more!

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Drink plenty of water

Keeping a hydrated lifestyle is an important part of being a truck driver. Not only does it help to keep you feeling and looking great, but it can also keep you from experiencing fatigue and other health-related issues. Plenty of water in your vehicle is an easy way to ensure that you’re staying hydrated and getting the right amount of nutrition. During your long hours on the road, it can be easy to overlook the importance of drinking plenty of water. However, drinking enough water can improve your overall health, help you maintain your energy levels, and can even help you lose weight.

One of the most common signs of dehydration is fatigue. When your body is dehydrated, your heart has to work harder to pump blood, and you can experience muscle cramps and overheat. You will want to try your best to avoid this at all costs, especially when you’re on the road.

Avoid junk food

Taking care of your health is crucial to truck driving. Keeping a healthy diet can help you avoid getting sick and keep you in good shape to handle the stresses of the job. A truck driver’s diet should contain plenty of fruits and vegetables. These foods contain essential vitamins and minerals and can also help lower blood pressure. They are also low in calories. This is more apparent if you’re closely watching your oral hygiene or are wearing invisible braces.

While there are many other factors to consider when it comes to a trucker’s health, a healthy diet is important. Eating a balanced diet can prevent obesity and other health problems. A healthy diet also includes avoiding junk food. Fast food joints are full of calorie-rich foods that can wreak havoc on your body. Aside from consuming a healthy diet, you should also drink enough water. While the truck stops may be loaded with soda and other soft drinks, it’s vital to stick to water.

Take breaks

Taking breaks to look healthy while you’re on the road can be a great way to boost your productivity and performance. When you take a break, you let your mind refocus and relax. This can help you retain information and find creative solutions to problems. In addition to improving your ability to focus, breaks can also help your mind recover from fatigue. If you are working long hours or you are battling fatigue and stress, it is important to take regular breaks. You especially should not forget about getting a good nights sleep. While the trucker world can be filled with plenty of all-nighters, if you want to look and feel healthy, then this means you’ll need to

Stay connected

Having a career as a truck driver can be a lonely experience. For many, this means being away from family and friends for months and even weeks at a time. Whether you are just starting out or have been in the industry for a while, staying connected with friends and family while on the road is important; long hours alone on the road can cause burnout and depression, but technology can make it easier than ever to connect with your loved ones from a distance. It may also help to talk to fellow truckers.

While truckers now more than ever can stay connected thanks to smartphones, it’s important to try to implement these in your life. This can be vital. Remember, being social is a major aspect of looking and feeling healthy while living the trucker lifestyle.

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National Chiropractic Health Month: How to Adjust Your Driver Fitness

You are behind the wheel for hours a day, and it doesn’t take long to realize that your mobile office can cause you some problems. Pain is a regular occurrence for most truck drivers and is often looked at as something that just comes with the territory. But we want to change that, so we partnered with Truckstop this October for National Chiropractic Health Month to let drivers know that there are solutions out there that can help you not just with finding a load but with taking care of the person driving it too. We surveyed over 200 drivers here at Mother Trucker Yoga, and of them, 77% said neck and back pain were their top three most significant occupation pain points. 

 

WHY DO SO MANY TRUCK DRIVERS HAVE PROBLEMS WITH BACK PAIN: ADJUST YOUR DRIVER FITNESS 

 

REPETITIVE STRESS INJURIES IN TRUCK DRIVERS

 

Repetitive stress injuries don’t just occur in the office by people who type on a keyboard all day. Repetitive stress injuries also can affect truck drivers, especially when it comes to sitting and driving. The continuous daily driving position of a C-Curved spine and 90-degree angle at the hip, mixed with a side of clutch and shifting, can affect the lower back, neck, shoulder, and hip. But on top of the long- hours sitting, the constant vibrations of the road can make it even more strenuous on the spine and joints. 

 

Mother Trucker Yoga is excited to be teaming up with Truckstop to show how the Truckstop Go app ™ can help you book loads and provide assistance with Factoring. Truckstop takes the health of your business as seriously as Mother Trucker Yoga takes your health and fitness. We both want to make it easy for drivers to manage their day, their work, and their health on every level, and by teaming up, we can do that for even more drivers like you. 

 

HERE ARE A FEW HELPFUL STRATEGIES TO GET BACK BEHIND THE WHEEL WITH LESS PAIN 

 

  1. Tune up your posture. 

Sitting all day puts all sorts of stress and strain on your body; mix that with the effects of gravity and you have some significant back and neck pain. Improving your posture can be as simple as the 5-Point Posture Safety Check. Before you go out and invest in some quick fixes, consider what you can do from the truck to fix where the problem could stem from. 

Adjust-Your-Driver-Fitness-National-Chiropractic-Month-Mother-Trucker-Yoga-Image Driving Fitness Posture

  1. Align your pelvis. – Keep it level and visualize sitting on the bottom edge of your pants pockets, not the top. 
  2. Slightly arch your back. – You want to keep the S-Curve in your spine present. Long-term sitting can cause more of a C-Spine shape, making it difficult to absorb some impacts while driving (much like a spring).
  3. Shoulders down. – You might start the day sitting tall, but after a few hours, you find yourself hunched over the steering wheel. Check-in regularly with the back of the seat and use that touch point to relax your shoulders and back. You might be surprised to find how far forward you are. 
  4. Open your chest and relax your arms. – Lift your heart and relax your elbows. A collapsed chest can cause a mysterious pain in the upper back and even shallow breathing, leading to increased stress and anxiety. Lift your heart and open your chest, and you will immediately find yourself breathing more deeply and feeling better. 
  5. Slide your chin slightly in. – Forward head is ubiquitous while driving and puts a lot of strain on your upper back and neck, causing immediate pain and even headaches. Take your first two fingers and with a level chin, slide your chin and head back a few inches to help it sit back on your shoulders where it belongs. 

 

These are all learned behaviors and habits; try setting the alarm every hour to make a particular sound that will notify you as a reminder to adjust your posture. Doing a posture safety check may help you while you’re out on the road and can’t get to the chiropractor for an adjustment. And when you do make it to your chiropractor, you now have healthy postural habits to help those adjustments hold up for longer, which means you feel better for the long haul. 

 

2. Stretch Regularly

It doesn’t have to be fancy, but a few minutes of stretching sprinkled throughout your day can be a game changer regarding how you physically feel and in keeping your body healthy and in alignment. 

Three Simple Truck Driver Fitness Stretches To Do Daily: 

1. Overhead Extension 

  • Sit tall.
  • Reach one or both arms up overhead.
  • Place your hands up against or towards the ceiling of your truck.
  • Lean into your underarms to feel a stretch.
  • Or interlace your fingers and press your palms up and back to stretch.

Adjust Your Driver Fitness: National Chiropractic Month Mother Trucker Yoga Reach Image

2. Seat Belt Spinal Twist 

  • Sit tall.
  • Take a deep breath in and rotate towards your seat belt.
  • Try grabbing it with the opposite arm.
  • And try to twist your spine a little further to stretch.
  • Hold for five to ten breaths.
  • Unwind and rotate the other way as you click your seat belt.
  • Take five to ten breaths. 
  • Slowly unwind and come back to the center.

Adjust Your Driver Fitness: National Chiropractic Month Mother Trucker Yoga Reach Image Twist

3. Drivers Seat Hip Stretch 

  • Make space in front of you wherever you are sitting.
  • Bring one leg up and bend your knee.
  • Let your leg drop open and rest on your seat with your foot towards your opposite thigh.
  • Gently press against the thigh with your hand to help open the hip.
  • Take a deep breath and sit tall. 
  • Slowly hinge from your hip forward to increase the stretch.
  • Hold for five to ten breaths. 
  • Repeat on the opposite side. 

Adjust Your Driver Fitness: National Chiropractic Month Mother Trucker Yoga Reach Image Hip Strech

3. Prioritize Your Time 

I know this can be easier said than done, when you feel like you are always rushing, chasing, and playing catchup with the day-to-day duties from paperwork, to finding a load, to insurance issues, or just managing everyday stressors. This can leave you with a lack of desire to do anything to take care of yourself. Truckstop does a fantastic job helping drivers with the day-to-day operations to help make your job and looking for loads that much easier so that you have more time for self-care and stretching. 

 

When I see a company with a platform designed for large and small trucking outfits and Owner Operators, and they are passionate about truck driver health (and don’t just say that because it sounds good), I dig into seeing what they are like. Truckstop does an excellent job reporting load rates and the Truckstop Go app lets users book loads on-the-go, enabling them to have the time to sneak in a stretch here and there without taking any time out of their busy lives, which in today’s world is a must.

 

If you are using the Truckstop Go app while safely parked or at home, try this: 

  • Just before you log on, reach up overhead, look up, and arch back slightly to stretch to help combat rounded shoulders. 
  • When scrolling looking for the perfect load, stand up and do a few squats or calf raises to improve circulation in your legs. 
  • When you are excited because you got paid so quickly for your load and now have valuable time to spend on your health and want to celebrate – run in place in your chair or the driver’s seat by swiftly moving your arms like you are running and lifting and lowering your legs as fast as you can for 30 seconds to get your heart rate up and tone your core. 

 

YOU DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD AGAIN. 

What is one small, simple change you can make today to improve your health? Don’t fall into the trap of needing to do it all at once or needing to overhaul your life. Think small and consistent. This is about building healthy habits over time; we know you can’t do this alone. And now you don’t need to. 

 

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Truck Driver Fitness How To Get Fitter Quicker

Truck Driver Fitness How To Get Fitter Quicker 

 

By exercising, you’ve already made a fantastic first step toward a healthier, happier you. Most of us have secretly hoped that if we ate enough junk food and watched enough television, we would eventually end up with a perfectly toned figure. However, it is not going to happen. Though it may seem like a waste of time and energy at first, working out regularly pays off in more ways than one. Follow these guidelines to get into the best shape of your life in a timescale that works for you.

 

Exercise Every Day

Get at least an hour’s worth of movement every day. You don’t have to do more than you’re capable of or comfortable with, but you should incorporate moderate exercise into your daily routine. Doing a workout with greater intensity will help you lose weight more quickly. Try going for a brisk hour-long walk, as an example. That exercise can be broken down throughout the day in your pockets of time. Waiting for a load? You could walk laps in the yard, do some simple yoga in the cab, or pull out a hand weight or soup can (yes, use what you have) and do some bicep curls. When it comes to truck driver fitness, how to get fitter quicker is the way to do it. 

 

Warning: Working out vigorously will cause muscle soreness. Even though it’s annoying, it’s often a sign of positive changes in your body. After each workout, it’s important to replenish lost fluids, stretch, and refuel with a meal with a fair amount of protein. Protein helps to rebuild your muscles, which is what you want to replace the fat you’re losing. And don’t forget bout essential minerals to help your muscles recover. Adding some Celtic sea salt to your water can help you stay happy and healthy. 

 

Sleep Well

As a truck driver, sleep can be a struggle, but some people don’t want to spend time sleeping. In other words, we don’t want to ‘waste’ time sleeping when we already have so little to spare. However, six to eight hours of sleep is vital. This will keep you going all day, but if you feel tired when you get home from work, feel free to take a short nap before you work out. You should only take a half-hour nap, as anything more will make it hard for you to stay up later.

Truck Driver Fitness How To Get Fitter Quicker mother trucker yoga image sleep

 

It’s also essential to have a good mattress. The type of mattress will depend on your needs, but if you need a firm one, look at these options: https://thesleepshopinc.com/best-extra-firm-mattress/. No matter what, it’s always best to spend more on a mattress than on the bed, as the mattress does all the work. Truck driver fitness how to get fitter quicker isn’t just about exercise; it’s also about your sleep fitness. How fit is your sleep? A good quality mattress is essential to how you feel during waking hours on the road or at home. 

 

Keep Track Of Your Calories

In simple terms, if you want to lose weight, you need to expend more energy than the calories you take in. This sounds easy, but it isn’t always so straightforward. Sometimes it’s possible to forget to count something if it was ‘just’ a snack or a drink, for example. Plus, how do you know how many calories you spend exercising? Most drivers just don’t move enough during the day, and paying attention to what you eat is essential, but on the other side, you need to move more. Our bodies are designed to move, we are meant to move, and no diet will replace your body’s need to be active. And that activity helps you subtract from the calories you eat to help manage your weight.

So many experts want to teach you elaborate and complicated programs to manage your diet, but let’s start small and simple, calories in and out. This alone will help you increase your activity which will keep your body healthier, and by focusing on more nutritious foods, you can cut calorie consumption even more.

 

The first problem can be solved with a food diary. You’ll better understand what you’re eating by writing everything down and learning about the number of calories in it. The second issue is harder to deal with, but one method to use is to know what your recommended daily calorie intake is. If you know this, you eat just under that number, and you exercise, you’ll be on the right path. 

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Truck Driver Fitness: 4 Ways to Cool Down After a Workout or Long Drive

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A long run, a challenging workout at the gym, or a stressful day at work or on the road can take its toll on your body. When you’re tired and sore after a workout or sitting all day in the truck, throwing ice on your muscles and calling it quits for the day is tempting. But cooling down and rehabbing your muscles is essential for preventing injuries and allowing your body to recover. When it comes to truck driver fitness, there are four ways to cool down after a workout or long drive.

Truck Driver Fitness: 4 Ways to Cool Down After a Workout or Long Drive stretching image mother trucker yoga blog

Following these simple ways will help you cool down from a tough workout or long drive without overworking yourself even more:

Stretch

Stretching is an excellent way for someone focused on truck driver fitness to cool down after a workout or a long drive. It helps to reduce soreness, improve flexibility, and prevent injury.

Stretching is one of the best ways to cool down after a workout or a long drive. The main benefits of stretching are that it helps with muscle soreness, increases range of motion, and reduces the risk of injury. You should stretch for about five minutes after you’ve finished exercising because this allows your muscles time to relax and recover from their exertion.

For those in the transportation industry, working out isn’t always possible, but the truck driver fitness four ways to cool down after a workout or a long drive makes it super simple to feel your best. And as many of you know, Mother Trucker Yoga is all about functional stretching. You are sitting all day, and your body can quickly begin to feel stiff, much like after a workout when you don’t focus or implement stretching into your daily routine.

Try these stretches:

Try a simple Forward Bend or a twist in your bed by dropping your knees side to side or reaching up overhead in the driver’s seat; all these simple stretches count towards truck driver fitness, four ways to cool down after a workout or a long drive.

Massage

Massage is excellent for muscle recovery. It can help reduce muscle soreness and speed up your recovery time, which is essential when choosing a workout that will help you stay cool after working out. Massage also helps with circulation, meaning your blood is getting where it needs to go faster, lessening the chance of overheating!

Not sure how to implement a massage on the go, stay tuned for the Mother Trucker Yoga Road Relief Massage Gun!

Roll those muscles

Roll those muscles. Your muscles are aching and need care, so use a foam roller or tennis ball to massage the soreness. This will help you release tension in the muscle tissue at the same time as it increases blood flow to aid recovery. The science: Massage helps reduce pain and inflammation by increasing circulation, aiding faster recovery from exercise.

Rolling can include using a foam roller or small travel massage balls like the Road Relief Massage Balls available for drivers as tools for truck driver fitness, four ways to cool down after a workout or a long drive. 

Rolling breaks up tight, stiff fascia and helps you feel more mobile and less stiff and tight, and what you keep blaming as you being old could just be your fascia lacking mobility.

Rest those muscles

After a workout, your body needs some time to rest, recover, and cool down. This is important because it allows your muscles to repair themselves and return to their pre-workout state. When you’re done with your workout, it’s best to give yourself at least 30 minutes of rest before you move on to the next thing.

During this period of rest, your body can begin recovering from the strenuous activities you’ve just completed. If you continue working out after your workout without taking any time to rest, you could injure yourself or damage your muscles further.

After a workout, try taking a walk or doing some light stretching exercises so that your body can become accustomed to being active again. Alternatively, you can find a way to rest and relax your muscles, whether having a rest day or getting help from places like Trulieve. 

 

Conclusion

No matter how you cool down, it’s important to remember that your body needs time to recover from a workout. If you’re not taking care of yourself, the gains made during exercise could be offset by injuries or illness later on down the road. 

Plus, if you’re overdoing it in the gym without cooling down properly between sets—or even days!—then there’s no way around that soreness when it comes back again tomorrow morning (or later today).

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5 Strategies to improve your health in 2022: New Guide

We all resolve for the new year to follow. It can be anything from learning a new language to improving your health in the coming months. If you decide to have excellent health, better driver fitness, or want to do better than last year, this blog is for you! Here, we tackle the five strategies to improve your trucking fitness and make 2022 a year of health. Without further ado, let’s jump right into the five strategies to improve your health in 2022.

Top 5 strategies to improve your health in 2022

Look After Your Mental Health.

Our brain is the powerhouse of our body, and having good mental health can reflect physical and emotional impacts on you. So how do you look after your mental health and driver fitness? Start with meditation and mindfulness. 

Please pick up the habit of unwinding by writing in journals because it provides emotional comfort and stability. Drink green tea because it delays age-related cognitive decline and makes us more agile. Be kinder to yourself and remind yourself that you are only human!

Eat Right

A balanced diet today goes a long way! Enrich yourself in low-fat diets that include plenty of fruits and vegetables and sources of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. Avoid having excessive sugar as it can lead to a condition known as insulin resistance, a precursor to developing diabetes. 

Find a balanced diet that works for you, and stick to it! Reduce your intake of alcohol, especially after 3 pm. Keep your system free from nicotine and caffeine, as these stimulators yield harmful benefits to your body.

Get Your Body Moving

It shouldn’t come across as a great surprise that exercise is critical to your health. Exercising improves cardiovascular strength and releases endorphins, which are happy hormones. It is linked to improving immunity against diseases, and exercising outdoors can enrich your body with vitamin D from the sun. 

Now here’s the thing: you don’t need to go to the gym to exercise. You could exercise with the help of online blogs or YouTube videos- like Mother Trucker Yoga’s YouTube page, teaching just a few minutes of exercise in your trucking fitness routine.

Be careful there are many people out there with fitness videos, but many of them are not trained to teach. Look for videos and blogs written by experienced professionals and ones geared towards a driver’s pain points.

Get Enough Sleep

Happy sleeping! Busy living has disrupted many of our peaceful lives, but it is critical to have an excellent 8-hour sleep each night. Sleeping well has many proven health benefits, and you’ll be surprised to know so. Sleeping boosts your body’s immunity, increases your cognitive reflexes, reduces aging of the brain, and helps in memory strengthening. You should ensure you’re sleeping and waking up each day simultaneously, don’t eat heavy meals before bed, and turn off devices an hour before sleeping.

Hydrate Yourself

Water is mostly what we are made of, which keeps us healthy. Water aids in alertness, keeping your skin and organs healthy. It helps you remain refreshed and work at the best of your mental abilities. An average adult needs eight glasses of water, and so should you if you want to have the best trucking fitness! This concludes our five strategies to improve your health in 2022.

5 Strategies to improve your health in 2022: New Guide Hydrate Yourself Mother Trucker Yoga blog image

Conclusion

We have brought you some driver fitness tricks to put up your sleeve this year. All you have to do is gather motivation and willpower to stick through and become healthier, happier, and have an excellent trucking fitness routine this year!

 

If you are ready to shift gears and join the movement.

Sign up to be a part of Mother Trucker Yoga’s LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART Platform & APP!

Mother Trucker Yoga LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART App and platform image

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Truck Driver Appreciation Week 2022 Free Truck Driver Health Challenge

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With Truck Driver Appreciation Week 2022, September 11th through the 17th, 2022, we want to celebrate.

Trucker Appreciation Week 2022 Free Challenge!

Mother Trucker Yoga has teamed up with St. Christopher’s Trucker Relief Fund for a FREE Health Challenge again this year!

Driver mental health is at an all-time high for truck drivers’ health issues and needs more attention.

Because drivers spend 90% of their day alone and often coupled with erratic work and sleep schedules, a focus on mental wellness is much needed.

Hope Zvara from Mother Trucker Yoga and Julie Dillon from St. Christopher’s Trucker Relief Fund have teamed up again to bring drivers a 5-Day FREE Challenge called Brain Breaks.

Brain Breaks 5-Day Challenge Brings You 5 Ways to Feel Great!

Do you feel like your brain never shuts off? Do you struggle to get to sleep?

Feel stuck in “fight or flight” mode?

We will discuss ways to reduce those stress levels and give the brain a daily reset.

What is Brain Breaks?

Brain Breaks is a FREE 5-day Challenge to help drivers learn simple, easy-to-implement strategies to feel their best no matter what the day brings.

What this means is every driver can feel good no matter what.

HOW TO GET SIGNED UP TO JOIN THE FREE TRUCK DRIVER APPRECIATION WEEK 2022 CHALLENGE:

Please register below to participate in this FREE week-long program in honor of you, the professional driver!

After registering, be sure to join the Facebook group.

This is where the live sessions will be at 9:00 am CT each day, Monday-Friday, September 12-16th.

 

Our Trucker Appreciation Week Brain Breaks Focus Will Be:

September 12th-#MondayMovement how to use movement to give your brain a much-needed break.

September 13th-#TuneInTuesday how the power of sound and music can curb any mood.

September 14th-#WisdomWednesday using the ancient practices of breathwork and meditation to improve mood, clarity, and focus.

September 15th-#ThinkAboutItThursday see how using simple visualization techniques can help you see life more positively and help you feel more confident in all you do.

September 16th-#FoodieFriday find out how food plays a role in how you feel and what foods to eat to give your brain the fuel it needs to be at its best.

How to Sign Up:

 

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Driver Fitness: Building Up Strength without Push-Ups

In our twenties, we typically feel invincible, like we can do anything and are unbreakable. Then in our thirties, we may feel minor wear and tear, but we are at the peak of our lives for the most part. But by age forty, fifty, and sixty, the ability to carry loads of life the way we used to start shows signs of weakness both mentally and physically.

Yet for many when it comes to the idea of strength and truckers, the idea of a trucker workout or driver fitness is often push-ups, cardio, and extreme fitness. Building strength woman or man does not have to be this and in my opinion, is an outdated way of taking back your health.  

Life can often get busier; we have more responsibilities and more things pulling at our focus. Being assertive is an inner game just as it is an outer game, and the two often play off each other. They sacrifice exercise, movement, and mental wellness to meet many of the additional needs’ demands. 

If you feel exhausted, mentally spent, short-tempered, distracted, lacking excitement for life, even showing signs of depression, you don’t need more rest; what you need is to feel strong again. 

Whether you are a truck driver, someone who sits at a computer all day, or on your feet doing every task known to man, when you don’t physically feel strong, it impacts how you feel mentally. Which in turn affects how you live your life.

Many think yoga is just stretching or meditating. Still, yoga is a total body experience that many do not fully understand until they participate in the first, second, and even tenth time. 

The Importance of Building Up Strength? 

Why focus on exercises and movements that build muscle? As we age, we lose three to five percent of our muscle mass each decade after age thirty. But if you aren’t doing anything to maintain what you have, that number only grows, and your body loses muscle, that is. It’s a misconception to build muscles. It would help if you lifted heavyweights. Research has proven that after age thirty, switching to lighter weights or focusing on resistance training has a more powerful impact on your physical body and decreases the chances of getting injured. And building up strength without push-ups doesn’t have to be complicated and can be easy and fun. There are more ways than heavyweights to build your strength back up. 

Don’t forget the impact of feeling physically strong has back on your mental state. Even if t weight feels heavy or the Plank feels shaky, the effect it has on your brain, thoughts, feelings, and outlook on life is nothing short of transformative. Working out regularly for just 20 minutes can boost long-term memory by 10%. It also improves cognitive function by increasing blood flow to the brain and slowing down dementia.

What is Strength Training/Exercise?

Strength training, typically known as weight or resistance training, is an anaerobic exercise that includes the breakdown of glucose (sugar) for energy without oxygen to consider free-loads, weight machines, or resistance training. Weight training can be utilized to reinforce and build up significant muscles, like the legs, back, glutes, chest, shoulders, arms, and midsection. These muscles are all needed in daily tasks and help reduce pain. Stretching allows our body to release tightness, pulling, and snags in our tissues that could be causing pain and discomfort. But building strength also allows us to reduce pain and discomfort by ensuring the muscles in our body supporting us are at peak performance and up for the job. 

Benefits

I believe taking care of your body is about balance. Not that fancy balance where life is a walk in the park talk. But balance where you give your body a little bit of everything. A few stretches, a dash of cardio-like walking, or even stepping up and down off your step while you are parked all count. But let’s not forget the need to build and maintain your strength. 

When we focus on building up strength and toning our muscles we:

  • Make the muscles of the whole body more substantial.
  • Stimulate bone growth.
  • Lower blood sugar level
  • Help in maintaining weight.
  • Improve posture and balance.
  • Reduce mental fatigue.
  • Improve memory.
  • Improve oxygen to the brain through more regular breathing.

 Driver Fitness: Building Up Strength without Push-Ups

There are many ways to build up strength no matter your age, and when you live over the road as a truck driver, you often have to use what you ha e. Not every driver has to time, means, or ability to pull over and park near Planet Fitness or have a total weight or gym set up in their truck. Many carrying around dumbbells or fancy equipment is not first on their necessity list when packing their vehicle for their next trip.

1.Planks on the step of your truck  

Throw on a pair of gloves and use your truck steps or your frame steps on your trailer to set your body up for these quick moves. Driver fitness doesn’t have to be complicated or take a lot of time.

Your body weight is an excellent way to maintain strength and it up as well  Plus moves like this require no extra equipment to travel with, but if you did have the equipment, make sure you have a secure toolbox to store it in on your truck. Try adding in a side plank, leg lifts, and arm lifts while in a plank- you’ll feel it. 

Driver Fitness: Building Up Strength without Push-Ups mother Trucker yoga blog plank

2.Bicep Curls, Tricep Extensions, and Shoulder Overhead Press

You don’t need a zillion moves for a healthy dose of driver fitness, just a few good ones to keep you moving powerfully. If you are traveling and tight on space, swap out an actual hand-weight for two wrenches or something heavy inside your truck. No one said fancy is necessary and when it comes to building up strength without push-ups, don’t stress, there are more ways to skin a cat.

Try to do ten reps of each move one to three times a day. With all that sitting at the wheel, posture and upper body strength and tone can begin to fade. Ensure you have a supportive seat and your steering wheel at the proper height not to cause shoulder or neck pain, But when you aren’t driving, you snuck in a few quick strength-building moves that you can do anywhere in under five minutes. 

Driver Fitness: Building Up Strength without Push-Ups overhead extension mother trucker yoga blog

3.Resistance Band Training 

resistance band training mother trucker yoga blog hope zvara

 

There are all sorts of fancy resistance band kits available for purchase, but you don’t need them. For best success, purchase a six to eight-foot physical therapy grade resistance band, a door loop, and a loop band to get the job done. 

Try incorporating moves with a loop band for great leg toning and resistance training. The great thing about resistance training when it comes to driver fitness is that you can easily travel with this equipment and practice the driver fitness moves anywhere.

resistance bands workout mother trucker yoga blog hope zvara

PURCHASE OUR BAND TRAVEL KIT

Next time you are at the track, stop threading your resistance band through the door loop, close the door, grab each side, and pull down. Get creative, try using one arm and pull, or create a combo and as you pull on the resistance band, add a squat. You can quickly build hip and leg strength with a loop band by placing it around your ankles and walking ten paces forward and back or doing a lap around your truck.

Adding in resistance band work a few times a week, even just five minutes, you will notice a difference in posture, strength, and a reduction in joint pain. And remember it’s easy to build up strength without push-ups and resistance bands can help you with that. Now that you have a few strategies to build up strength without push-ups I can’t wait to hear how your next truck driver workout goes. 

 

No matter what type of strength training you choose to incorporate into your day as a driver, the most important thing is that you add it in. Paying attention to your physical strength and feeding your physical body what it needs will also benefit how you feel mentally. If you want to improve your mental wellness and mental strength, consider adding a few moves to build up your physical strength first. Before you know it, your mind and body will feel like they are twenty again but with the wisdom of a forty, fifty, or sixty years old. 

Happy Moving!

 

It’s time to take care of yourself. Here at Mother Trucker Yoga, we believe in the small simple changes that lead to the big results, so that you can feel good again. Join our family and enroll in our Mother Trucker Yoga LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART Membership Platform & APP use the code: MTY30 for a FREE 30 DAYS!

 

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4 Skills Every Trucker Should Have To Improve Truck Driver Health

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The trucking industry is often more competitive than people think. There can be a lot of individuals applying for the same preposition. Knowing the skills you need is essential beyond standard driving qualifications. And when it comes to skills, drivers should have skills to take care of truck drivers’ health is critical.

 

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4 Skills Every Trucker Should Have To Improve Truck Driver Health

First Aid

 

At this point, you might think, wait, I’m going to be alone for most of the trip. While this is true, it is worth considering what might happen if you end up in an accident. If you have a first aid qualification, you could provide vital support to anyone injured. First aid could be a critical skill for a truck driver.

Don’t forget; this does include yourself. It’s easy to forget that skills in first aid will ensure that you can provide primary care for yourself if you are injured too. You’ll know the proper steps to take. You can learn more about this on sites that offer first aid qualifications. Regarding truck driver health, first aid is essential; being certified could save a life or even yours. 

 

Customer Service

 

You might also want to consider your customer or client service skills. If you are new to the trucking industry, it’s easy to assume that there are virtually no interactions with other people. While true, you will spend most of your time on the road. You’ll still interact and engage with clients, customers, or colleagues. These interactions will impact how people judge and view your service. As such, you need to know how to interact with people at your final destination and on the road. Remember, your behavior will alter the perception of the business you’re working for. How people perceive you create an energy of how you are treated and when you are treated poorly or negatively, which can alter our mood, state of being, and overall truck driver health status. 

Consider taking a breath before you speak and ask yourself, is what I am about to say necessary and kind? You can be honest and kind at the same time.

 

Patience 

 

You must have patience when you’re a truck driver. There will be many times when you are stuck in traffic or when there are countless factors beyond your control. In times like this, mistakes can and will happen if you are not patient. It would help if you were willing to wait it out and have the mindset that some things can not be changed or fixed by you. This will also help you improve the quality of your driving. 

Consider practicing deep breathing like the 3 and 6 Count Breath to improve your truck driver’s health:

  • Inhale for three counts through the nose. 
  • Exhale for six counts through the mouth. 
  • Repeat this for one minute. 
  • Then observe how you feel. 

Do this whenever you feel stressed, annoyed, or low on patience. Mother Trucker Yoga has audio meditations for drivers to help you with patience! This is just one skill to have to improve truck driver health.

Mechanical Knowledge

 

Like first aid, you don’t need this skill as a trucker. But it can be helpful to have. Your employer won’t expect you to have mechanical knowledge, but it’s great if you know a little about how your vehicle works for a few reasons. First, it will ensure that you know the signs there’s a problem with the vehicle, which may mean it’s not safe to drive. Catching these signs early will help you avoid an accident. Second, it can ensure that you know what to do if your truck breaks down at the side of the road and may provide you can get it up and running again without waiting for support. 

 

We hope this helps you understand some of the skills you should have as a truck driver. By learning these skills, you can ensure that you are more likely to be hired for a position. You will also be more effective in any trucking job that you are chosen for.

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How to Avoid Injury When Working Out: Safety Tips

It’s no secret that working out can be great for your health. But if you’re not careful, you can easily injure yourself. This blog post will discuss some safety tips to help you avoid injury when working out. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced athlete, these tips will help keep you safe and healthy.

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Warm Up and Cool Down

One of the most important things you can do to avoid injury is to warm up and cool down properly. A good warm-up will increase your heart rate and body temperature, which will help prepare your muscles for activity. A cool-down, on the other hand, will help your body recover from the workout and prevent excessive soreness.

 

Stretch

Stretching is another important way to reduce your risk of injury. Before working out, take a few minutes to stretch all of the major muscle groups that you’ll be using. This will help improve your range of motion and flexibility, reducing your risk of injury.

 

Choose the Right Exercise

Not all exercises are suitable for everyone. Choosing an activity appropriate for your fitness level and health condition is essential. If you have any injuries or medical conditions, be sure to consult with your doctor before starting a new workout routine.

 

Use Good Form

Using good form is essential for preventing injury. When lifting weights, for example, be sure to use a controlled motion and avoid jerking the weights. If you’re unsure how to do an exercise correctly, ask a certified personal trainer from a reputable organization for help. You can click here for different fitness certifications available.

Know The Difference Between Good and Bad Pain

There’s a difference between the excellent pain of a challenging workout and the bad pain of an injury. It’s essential to be able to distinguish between the two. Good pain is usually muscle soreness after a day or two. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness, and it’s nothing to worry about. Bad pain, however, is sharp or persistent pain that doesn’t go away. This could be a sign of an injury. If you’re ever in doubt, it’s always best to consult with a medical professional.

 

Listen to Your Body

It’s essential to listen to your body and pay attention to any pain or discomfort you may feel. If something doesn’t feel right, stop doing the exercise and consult with a medical professional. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

 

Rest and Recovery

After a workout, you must rest your body so your muscles can recover. Avoid working out too often or intensely, as this can lead to overtraining and injury. Make sure to get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy diet to support your recovery.

 

Nutrition

Eating a healthy diet is vital for overall health, but it’s also crucial for preventing injury. Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will help improve your joint and bone health. Getting enough protein is also essential, as it helps repair muscle tissue.

 

Following these safety tips will help you avoid injury when working out. Remember to warm up and cool down properly, choose the proper exercise, use good form, and listen to your body. And don’t forget to rest and recover after your workout. By following these tips, you’ll be able to stay safe and healthy while achieving your fitness goals.

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Rules To Follow To Stay Healthy While Traveling in 2022

This is a tale as old as time. You’re on the road to an excellent destination, but the flu you caught is bringing you down. Before you know it, you’re halfway into misery, and that’s because traveling disrupts your diet and exercise routine. Travel fitness is essential, especially with the way our world has been warped into a pandemic. But we have curated this blog to help you gain better driver fitness, so you don’t have to feel down when you’re behind that wheel! Our rules to follow to stay healthy while traveling is worth knowing!

Seven best rules to follow to stay healthy while traveling

Sleep soundly

Keeping a good sleep schedule during your travels can be the biggest favor you can do to your body. Driving to places is a physically exhausting role that can leave you susceptible to many diseases. Listen to your body and rest whenever you can. (Read more about sleep from Hope Zvara over at RoadPro Blog https://www.roadprobrands.com/lifestyle/articles?itemId=Article:258)

Walk around as Easy Travel Fitness

Exercise is good for your body, whether you are home, but they’re even better when you’re scheduled to drive 12 hours without a break. You should find the time to walk around or take the stairs and get the circulation in your entire body going. It is the key to good driver fitness. 

Join Mother Trucker Yoga’s Walking Challenge. Get motivated, get strategies, get results! PLUS IT’S FREE!

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Eat healthy meals

Food is the fuel to the body; hence whatever you consume will have a lasting effect. A healthily fueled body is less likely to get sick during travels than others. Never skip breakfast as it is the most important meal of the entire day. 

Enrich your meals with a balanced diet. Have a low-fat diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Limit sweets and alcohol as they are harmful intakes. 

Always stay hydrated

No travel fitness guide can be complete without emphasizing how vital drinking water is. Water enables agility and wakefulness, which are core essentials to any driver’s fitness. Travelling can quickly dehydrate you, so always carry a big bottle of water with you to sip from.

Wash your hands

In the age of a pandemic, germs are on everyone’s mind, which is why you need to wash your hands often during your travels. We come across all types of infected surfaces in our travels, and keeping yourself sanitized is a wise man’s move. But be mindful that there are good and bad bacteria. When regularly using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, it can strip your body of the good bacteria while removing the bad, and that can leave you more prone to sickness. Look for products with essential oils and natural anti-bacterial properties in them.

 

Meditate for Travel Fitness

Keeping the mind healthy can keep the body fit, and what good is meditation if not for bringing you inner peace? Taking time to meditate for just 10 minutes can have a prolonged impact on your mental health, and we suggest you do so! Meditation doesn’t have to be scary. It can be simple, relaxing, and take just minutes a day. 

Carry a first aid kit

Things don’t always go according to plan. You get cuts and scratches during your travels, so there’s a good chance of infection unless you’ve brought a wisely-packed first aid kit along with you. Keep over-the-counter painkillers, bandages, and other medicines of importance. Apply sunscreen to your skin to avoid sunburn or UV damage as well!

In the End

If you’ve read all these tips on staying fit during your travels, we hope you implement these to get the best travel fitness and driver fitness for those behind the wheel. Always wear seatbelts while driving and travel safely! Remember these rules to follow to say healthy while traveling.

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